RB Leipzig slip five points behind after being held 0-0 by Borrusia Monchengladbach
Honorat’s finish for Gladbach ruled out by VAR shortly after the interval
Harder denied by a superb full-stretch stop from Nicolas on 71 minutes
Gladbach had a penalty shout overturned following a review of Orban’s challenge
RB Leipzig's early title ambitions took a blow after they were held to a 0-0 draw against Borussia Monchengladbach.
The visitors, who are now five points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich while having played a game more than their rivals, could not find a breakthrough at Borussia-Park, while Gladbach also saw key decisions go against them.
It was a quiet first half, with neither side able to test the goalkeepers before the break. Antonio Nusa and Conrad Harder both saw attempts fly wide of the target, while Florian Neuhaus missed two chances of his own at the other end.
It was an eventful start to the second half, with Franck Honorat finding the bottom-right corner within two minutes of the restart. However, his goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR check, much to the displeasure of his Gladbach fans.
Harder went close again for Leipzig in the 71st minute, with his powerful effort from distance forcing a brilliant save from Moritz Nicolas, who was at full stretch to deny the striker his first Bundesliga goal.
Gladbach then had a penalty decision overturned, with Willy Orban's challenge on Shuto Machino deemed fair, before David Raum struck the crossbar with 10 minutes to go as neither side were able to secure victory.
Data Debrief: Gladbach misfire against Leipzig, again
Despite a slow start from Leipzig, they eventually found their rhythm in the second half, but to no avail. They produced 0.78 expected goals (xG) from 19 shots to Gladbach's 0.35 from seven attempts.
Raum certainly gave it his all, too. He created the most chances for his side (five), attempted the most crosses (nine), made three clearances, won possession four times and hit the crossbar.
Gladbach have won just four of their 19 Bundesliga matches against Leipzig (D4 L11), while they have failed to score in five of their last six encounters against them.
